Nocturnal Understanding
by Marina Floyr
Summary: Neville and Ginny find out they have alot in common, might turn into a deeper story later. Set in GoF.


_**Disclaimer- **All chars n' hogwarts stuffs belongs to JKR. I own nothing. Don't sue me.___

_**Author's notes-** Takes place 4th year. Companion story to Tea With Moody, though I guess you don't really have to read it first. They just both focus on Neville in the same way.I dunno whether or not to call this fluff. I hope it's not, 'cause it's too...erm, non-fluffed of a vision. Came to me in a math daydream 6 months ago, dug it out and rewrote parts. I've always wondered WHY Neville asked Ginny to the yule ball. It wasn't a mtter of just being desparate.....erm....just read. N' review, 'cause although I dunno why, it's just a little story, but I've never been so nervous about the final product of a fanfic before._   
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Nocturnal Understanding __

_Croak._

Neville Longbottom awoke with a start in the dead of night to find a large toad squatted on his chest, looking up at him unblinking stare. Mumbling drowsily, Neville rolled over and swept a hand over to knock the toad of the edge of his four poster. But it was to no avail, it leapt right back and hopped like mad atop his bedsheets.   
  
"Trevooor...come off it Trevor, I'm trying to sleep" he groaned peevishly. A moment later, Dean Thomas answered across the dormitory with a vague 'and West Ham scores!' before rolling back over into his pillow. Neville blinked up at the ceiling, snapping into consciousness. Realising his mouth was dry, he sat up and rubbed his eyes before searching the floor for his fuzzy grey slippers gran had sent last weekend. Only one was found by his trunk, but one warm foot topped two cold.   
  
Once reaching the water jug under the windowsill, Neville paid extra care not to spill as he filled a porclein mug. Nose pressed to the window, breath fogging up the pane, he looked out over the grounds. A full moon of mid-october rose imperiously over the sky, lighting the glassy black surface of the lake below. For a solid minute or so the round-faced boy stood motionless, taking in the silence.   
  
Then from somewhere outside the dormitory he heard a very soft noise, almost like the mew of a cat. Neville noticed the door was ajar when he turned around, and really didn' want any cat slipping in while anyone was sleeping. It was bad enough that Hermione's ginger cat found it's way up there often and seemed to find it's true feline content picking through their open trunks. Just last week, the whole dormitory had been woken up when Crookshanks had dug up an old pair of socks and batted them around...the socks containing Harry's sneakoscope. 

So with a half sigh he started over to close the door, but halfway past Ron's bed he tripped over something furry and crashed to the floor. groping around for whatever it was by his foot, the lost slipper was recovered. Surprisingly, his rather loud fall hadn't woken the others. The only sounds for a few seconds were the low breathing of five Gryffindor boys. And then the faint noise started again. It wasn't a cat. 

Neville got to his feet, still pulling his left slipper on with one hand as he hobbled out to the hallway. It was a muffled sort of sound coming from somewhere downstairs. Counting the steps in darkness, he headed towards the common room. The noise grew steadily audible, though still low. 

"Peeves? Is that you Peeves? If it is...um...could you shut it please?" he called in a loud whisper. Now it seemed as if another set of slippered feet were pounding up some staircase, and Neville could have sworn he heard a door close. For a moment he considered heading back to bed, or a least getting his wand from the bedside table, but mustering up courage against his silly fear of the dark actually seemed to work this time. Listening carefully he could locate the noise, or at least guess it was in the direction of the girls' dormitories.   
  
He took the staircase to the girls' wing on tiptoe, as if the stone steps might creak. He was treading on dangerous ground, after all. Two weeks prior, Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson had been caught in her dorm after hours, and McGonagall was _not_ pleased with any news of boys being found in off-limits areas of Gryffindor Tower. Suddenly, a realization struck him...someone was crying, and it was coming from two doors down in the 3rd years' dorm. He waited for a moment, listening to the quiet sobs from within before hesitantly attempting a knock. 

There was a patter of footsteps, and the rustle of covers. Neville rocked on his heels and pressed an ear to the door, then knocked gently again. 

" Who's there?" came an unrecognisable gasp. Neville blushed, drawing back a bit. 

"Are...are you okay in there?" he whispered. 

"Who's out there?" the trembling voice repeated. 

"Er..um" he paused, wondering if heading back now was a good idea. "Neville Longbottom" he blurted before stopping himself. There was a deadened silence, and then the door creaked open, just enough to reveal a freckled cheek and one watery brown eye. 

"What are you doing up here?" 

"Ginny?" (for it was unmistakably the Weasley girl) 

"You'll get in trouble! What are you up here for?" she hissed. 

"Uh..." Neville suddenly felt foolish "Well, I heard...was that you crying Ginny?" She shook her head. "You okay?" Ginny nodded. "Oh...alright then" he turned, wondering what odd figments of imagination would pop up next when a small had tapped him on the shoulder. Neville jumped, and looked over his shoulder. 

"Wait!" pleaded her soft voice after a slight pause. The door groaned as Ginny slipped out into the hall, the thin form of a girl in a dressing gown appearing at his side. "I..I can't sleep, Neville." 

"You _were_ crying" 

"Don't laugh" she frowned seriously, folding her arms, already having experienced enough of Fred and George's taunting earlier that day. Neville, however, merely wrinkled his nose. 

"What would I laugh for? I've had plenty of nightmares myself, it's no big deal." 

"Wasn't...nightmares" she mumbled, sillowhetted head drooping a bit. 

"Come downstairs for a bit? I'll sit up with you till you feel better" he offered awkwardly. Neville had no idea why he'd just suggested this, it was probably the third time in his life he'd actually carried on a conversation more than five sentances long with Ron's little sister. But Ginny seemed almost relieved by his presence, and the two of them crept back down the staircase to the common room without speaking to one another.   
  
It was an awkward silence, especially when the firelight of the common room revealed Ginny with a tear-stained face and flushed cheeks. Odd though, she didn't seem as mortified as one would expect. Neville was sure that if a fifth year girl had shown up at _his_ dormitory door in the middle of the night, he would have hidden under the bed. "You okay?" he asked again. 

"Yes." A brow lifted cautiously, eyes darting to the boy's staircase. "Are you the only one awake Neville?" 

"S'far as I know" he nodded 

"Ron or Harry didn't wake up or anything?" she asked with an air of weary caution, worried of what her brother of (as everyone knew well enough) her crush would think if they woke up to her crying too. 

"No...can you tell me what's wrong?" Neville sighed. The redhead girl nodded, moving to sit in an armchair near the fire. 

"Only if you promise not to tell anyone" 

"I promise" he answered, straining to keep the hints of curiousity from his voice. Ginny took in a deep breath, staring down at her clammy hands 

Neville merely blinked in response, giving a matter-of-fact shrug. That was it? But reasonably enough, he could see why that class could bother anyone into insomnia this year. He had once already. He managed to find a sensible voice, something around the patient tone Hermione Granger would use when attempting to explain a potions lesson. 

"Weeell...I'm not sure if you can. You could drop divination for something else, or your muggle studies class, but-" 

"I'm serious, I'm not going back inside that classroom!" her eyes flashed with a stern look beyond her years, but even beyond that laid an apprehensive fear that Neville could even pick out in the dim light. Considering this for a moment, Neville bent down to sit cross-legged beside Ginny's armchair, watching the glowing coals. 

The truth was, Miss Weasley wasn't the only one not too keen on the class. Neville hadn't enjoyed it since day one. 

"Does...does Professor Moody scare you?" he asked gingerly, not wanting to bring up his own fears at the moment. 

"A little" she sniffed, and Neville felt awfully relieved to hear he wasn't the only one. Now this could be something he could easily relate to, not some girl problem like the things Parvati or Lavender always seemed to be sobbing over. 

"Yeah" he nodded fervantly, "he gives me the creeps too, but my gran says-" 

"It's not that!" Ginny cut him off abruptly with a sudden flood of frustration in her voice. Neville raised a finger to his lips, and she hurried on in a whisper "I don't think I can do the cirriculum anymore" 

Oh. So that was it. Still, Moody didn't teach the 3rd years exactly what he taught them, right? "Is he teaching you the unforgivables too?" 

"Yes" she said flatly. Neville looked up, giving her a sympathetic smile. 

"Everybody was scared of that...I was really scared of that" he admitted with a shrug. Ginny propped up one elbow on the chair's arm and rested her chin on her palm. She stared trance-like up at the picture of Godric Gryffindor over the mantle piece. Her voice grew low. 

"Did he put Imperius on you?" 

"Just this past lesson" Neville grinned, "it was pretty cool, actually. He made me look like was was in the circus" No sooner had the words passed his mouth had Ginny slammed her fist down on one knee, glaring down at him. 

"It's not _funny_!" 

"I know it isn't, I never said it was" he murmured defensively as a house elf hurried out of the shadows, prodded the coals in the fireplace, and stirred up another great flash of muticolored flames. The dancing light licked at Ginny's freckled face, which was slowly turning pale again. 

"You don't know how it was, with that curse. Everybody shrugs it off like it's no big deal, they've never had it done to them" Her voice was deadpan, filling the silence like dead weight. Neville squinted, bewildered as he looked to her quizzically, mouth forming a silent 'what?', but Ginny seemed to bust into a sob of explaination at once 

"From Riddle! Two years ago when he- I didn't even _know_ thats what it was till class today, and it was my turn, and all of a sudden I felt the same way I did half my first year, and Professor Moody said something abrout strutting around like a chicken" she squeaked, voice rising and octave "and then thats when it just hit me smack in the face! And I went hysterical right in the middle of the lesson, and I had to go to Madam Pomfrey half the afternoon, and they almost owled mum and dad but-" 

"Ginny!" He reminded her again, afraid her slowly building sobs would wake up the whole house. "Gin...it's okay. You-...You-know-who isn't around anymore, you know that. We've got three headmasters around, an ex auror, and a pile of creepy lookin' screwts for protection" he sighed soothingly, reaching up gingerly to take her hand. Ginny giggled slightly at first, but quicklyretained her seriousness. 

"But you don't understand, I can't go back to that class, I've been up all night thinking how I'm going to explain this to Professor Mcgonagall, but now that you say thats impossible I guess I'll have to try and face it because it's hopeless!" 

"Hey, that's okay. Last year Professor Lupin said you can always face your fears. But if you want me to be honest, I think you were awful brave not to pass right out, I think thats what I would have done" 

"Brave?" Ron's sister sniffed, sliding down to the floor beside Neville "I'm not brave, someone like Harry, Harry's brave. I shouldn't even be in Gryffindor, I'm just here 'cause the rest of my whole big family was" she muttered sullenly. Neville sighed. Now he definitely knew where she was coming from, he'd been feeling the same way since he was sorted four years ago. 

"I know...me too, alot. But...but sometimes it just doesn't show so soon, right?" 

"You're right" she admitted finally, pulling her hand back into her lap with a small smile. "You know, funny how I never saw it before, but you're alot like me" Neville grimaced. Was she? No, no Weasley was ever as big a squib, and he'd seen her practicing charms in the common room before, a year younger and she was loads better than he ever was. But now, there was certainly no need to bring that up.   
  
Ginny looked cautiously at him, as if there was a plaguing itch to speak, and then finally decided on opening another can of worms. An even more tedious subject. 

"I bet you don't like it either, after what happened with your parents and all" 

Neville's mind froze, going fully numb for a moment. Giving a weak shrug, he picked at the loose lining of his slippers. Ginny returned her eyes to folded hands, wincing with regret for opening her mouth.   
  
"No" he finally admitted, head hung. "I don't." And then more quietly, "How did you know that?" 

It was Ginny's turn to look surprised. Nibbling on her lower lip, she looked away. 

"I thought everyone kne- Well I heard mum talking to someone she had over for tea last year, she worked at St. Mungos...have you seen them lately?" she asked, attempting to be polite while walking on eggshells. 

"Yeah we stopped before I caught the train. They still don't know who I am." his voice dropped to a mumble. "Probably best they don't, don't think they'd be too pleased with me" 

A hand touched his shoulder, a small pitying hand. 

"I think you're wrong there. I think they'd be glad you've stayed the way you are...you're really sweet Neville, sitting down here with me when my brothers or someone else could have heard me and just would have laughed. You're not like that. And look, I heard all from Ron about how you won us the house cup in your first year...you're braver than me." 

There are times when a silence is needed. For the Gryffindor common room, it might have lasted minutes, might have lasted an hour or so, neither really noticed. Both sat entirely motionless, watching the fire, sifting through thoughs till each was put in place, all except for the odd, distant mood of it all. When the fire simmered to the coals again, Neville blinked back to consciousness. 

"Are you gonna be okay now?" 

Ginny yawned, picking at the sleeves of her pale yellow dressing gown. 

"I think so...thanks so much Neville, you've been really nice to me" she beamed awkwardly for a moment, and then pulled him into a unabashed hug. Neville guessed she was used to hugging her brothers, or maybe it was just because he wasn't Harry. His cheeks, on the other hand, flushed a bright pink. 

"Uh...you're welcome. Anytime" he offered weakly, helping her up with a rather dazed expression. 

"I owe you one...and you promise not to tell a soul, right?" she repeated while backing out of the firelight. Neville nodded, and followed her up as far as the break in the staircase. "So...um, goodnight then" she whispered, and out of nowhere Neville had a sudden urge to give her a light kiss on the cheek. For a girl, she was sorta easy to talk to, and tonight had shown her in an entire new light. But being it was Ron's sister, and for a million other reasons, he could bring himself to. Besides, she had already started up the staircase. 

Neville watched her till she moved out of sight. 

"Goodnight" he echoed. 


End file.
